GermanyPlan
to export hundreds of tanks to Saudi Arabia sparks fierce opposition06.07.2012Campaigners, activists
and politicians in Germany have denounced the proposed sale to
Saudi Arabia of hundreds of tanks designed for "urban warfare",
with the deal described as "scandalous" and "against
democracy and human rights".

In July 2011 a decision
was made during a secret meeting of German government's Federal
Security Council to approve the export of 270 Leopard 2A7+ tanks
to Saudi Arabia. The decision of the Council, which is chaired
by Angela Merkel, only became publicly known after the German
media published leaked correspondence relating to the deal.

Der Spiegel, which published
the documents, reportedly stated at the time that:

"This would be
the first time Germany supplied heavy arms to an Arab government
that has declared its intention to fight its opponents with 'an
iron fist', a country that deployed tanks against demonstrators
in a neighbouring country - Bahrain - and ranks 160th on The
Economist's Democracy Index, just a few spots above North Korea,
which holds the very bottom spot." [1]

Recently it has become
clear that Saudi Arabia is seeking to increase the order to between
600 and 800 tanks, putting the total value of the deal at some
$12.6 billion. The Saudi Defence Ministry is reported to want
the deal "wrapped up by July 20, before the annual fasting
season of Ramadan is due to start." [2]

Production and protest

The tanks are primarily
produced by the firm Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, although according
to campaigners a number of other firms are also involved in various
aspects of the tanks' production and delivery, including Rheinmetall
and MTU Friedrichshafen.

The NGO Grundrechte
Komitee has called for direct action; civil disobedience;
public mobilisation; and "peaceful protest and blockades"
against the firms involved in the production and delivery of
the tanks, as well as banks that are involved in financing arms
production and exports. A report issued last year accused Deutsche
Bank of being "the most important financier" of the
companies involved in the export deal. [3]

The Komitee issued
a statement saying that "what the government wants to implement
and what the people want stand at odds to each other," and
"civil disobedience actions are justified, because such
tank exportations stand against human rights. Therefore resistance
against the arms trade is legitimate!" [4]

The international campaigning
organisation Avaaz has launched an online petition calling
for a halt to the sale, while in Berlin a protest took place
that was organised by the organisation International Physicians
for the Prevention of Nuclear War. [5]

Some 75% of 1000 people
questioned in a poll published by the weekly magazine Stern
oppose the deal, with supporters of the Left, Green and Social
Democrat parties most strongly against the proposed sale. [6]

Bullet in the post

At the end of June it
was revealed that an organisation called the Centre for Political
Beauty (Zentrum für Politische Schönheit) had
posted a bullet to one of Krauss-Maffei Wegmann's owners, accompanied
by a "stained note" reading: "Your deals give
children and their parents no chance for a happy life."

The same group has also
offered cash rewards in return for information leading to the
arrest of Krauss-Maffei Wegmann's owners. An offer of 25,000
has been made "for information leading to the imprisonment
of the owners of KMW." [7]

"Military operations
in urban terrain"

According to the group
Stoppt den Waffenhandel, which is calling for German residents
to send letters opposing the deal to Bundestag deputies, [8]
the Leopard 2A7+ was first presented in 2010 at the French arms
fair Eurosatory. It weighs over 67 tonnes, has an operating distance
of 450 km and is marketed as being useful for "military
operations in urban terrain." [9]

The model earmarked for
export to Saudi Arabia has apparently been adapted for the specific
needs of the Saudi government with the addition of an "interface
for additional elements" such as bulldozers.

Stoppt den Waffenhandel argues that the deal with Saudi
Arabia may have an important impact on the 2013 elections. After
the details were made public, the opposition Green, Left and
Social Democrat parties made "serious accusations"
against the government. In response a representative of the Bundestag's
defence committee and the economic-political spokesperson of
the Christian Democrat-Christian Social Union coalition, Joachim
Pfeiffer, defended the government's position, remarking on "Saudi
Arabia's stabilising function in relation to Iran, but also Israel
and Palestine."

Broken principles?

The deal, if it goes through,
would apparently break "long-standing principles of not
supplying advanced weapons to autocratic regimes." [10]
According to Stoppt den Waffenhandel, however, these principles
have not in the past prevented German governments approving the
sale of arms to Saudi Arabia.

From 1998 to 2005, the
government headed by Gerhard Schröder exported approximately
232.7 million of weaponry to Saudi Arabia. Between 2005
and 2012 exports increased further, and in just four years the
Christian Democrat-Social Democrat coalition, in power from 2005
to 2009, approved arms transfers worth approximately 406
million.

The controversy over the
deal has come just weeks before states are due to negotiate on
the first ever binding Arms Trade Treaty at the United Nations
in New York.

A European Parliament
resolution on the proposed treaty was cautiously welcomed by
analysts and civil society organisations. The Parliament's statement
was criticised for ignoring "several key factors, such as
the impact of the arms trade on the socio-economic development
of recipient countries and the involvement of civil society in
future negotiations." [11]

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